‘I do writing business with innovativeness to stay profitable’

Victoria Praise Abraham, chief executive, Vic-Abraham Media Nigeria Limited, speaks on how she uses innovation to stay in business as a writer, in this interview with OLUYINKA ALAWODE. Excerpts:

Business

I started Vic-Abraham Media Nigeria Limited in 2001, that was when the business was incorporated, but I started fully in 2012. I write and produce inspirational materials. I do self publishing of the books I write, which basically teaches success principles in life. I also produce other creative works such as portraits, posters, key-holders, in fact, any material that the words I am inspired to write can be printed on.

I have been inspired to write nuggets on leadership, and on family. I shall write on team work and any area of life that would inspire people.

My second book “12 Golden Laws of Success” was launched recently. It draws inspiration from God Almighty as he gave laws to the children of Israel through Moses, and indeed to all believers through the Bible, in order that they may be “prosperous and successful.”

My second self-published book “Treasures” was launched  December 20, 2011. It was inspired by a challenging period in my life some years ago, and this made me take up writing as a form of therapy. I started by writing regularly via the internet. I gradually began to use my writings to encourage others and this led to “Treasures,” which is a collection of inspirational poems centred around grace, faith, joy, love, God and others. The main lesson is to keep hope alive and never give up  in life and on God, because success is sure if one perseveres.

Marketing

The marketing so far has been fantastic because I have enjoyed the support of friends, associates and former colleagues. For most self-published writers, your network is very vital if you are going to succeed in writing as a business, if you have a strong and supportive network, through that alone you can market your books. Before you even publish a book, you should work on your networking skills.

But marketing anything in Nigeria requires focus, strategy and commitment. Nothing good comes easy, and you have to be ready and willing to pay the price of hard work to succeed. God’s grace is of course needed to breathe success on whatever one does in life.

I currently market the books, portraits, posters and so on through the internet – my website and blog and sales have been quite encouraging.

Challenges

Penetrating the international market – America, Europe, Asia, is very tough, especially at the beginning, but I am not doing so badly now. Funding is also another challenge but the business is growing as I reinvest the profit. The challenges writers in Nigeria experience is not peculiar to writing business alone. Doing business in Nigeria is generally challenging.  The only peculiarity is that Nigerians, especially the younger generations, prefer to surf the internet or watch TV. So, we need to create programmes that would inspire more and more Nigerians to imbibe the culture of reading.

Other challenges include leadership. The gap between our leaders and those being led is just too wide, many Nigerians cannot afford or do not see buying books as priority.

But my inspirational nuggets on portraits and posters have been useful, they are easy to read, do not take time and really very inspiring.

Another problem is that there is no strong protection for writers. The writers’ work can be pirated and the pirates would usually get away with the crime, while the writer bears the losses.

But as a strong believer in God, I refuse to give in, in the faces of all these adversities. However, I advise writers in Nigeria never to give up no matter what challenges they face.  Most writers are dreamers and visioners who see what others do not see. The writers of today will be leaders of tomorrow.  Whatever you are passionate about, whatever you dream of achieving, whatever you choose to contribute to humanity, keep striving, thriving and achieving.

Staffing

I work with ad-hoc staff and pay them for services rendered. I expect the business will grow and I’ll be able to employ full-time staff.